Thank you! It can be a bit embarrassing when I miss something obvious, but in this case I'd like to think it was more the case that the puzzle is a bit confusing. :)
Because I had the German version, there was no elf on the page for the 11th of December and also none in the room. So when you translate the word elf from German into English you get the word eleven, so I knew straight away to look in room 11 for the traces on the ceiling. As you’ve said on a previous day, this is primarily a German game, translated for the English market, so that’s why they’ve had to add the elf onto the pages and inside the room
Ah, yes. I should have realized the German connection sooner, since I did know elf = eleven. And a bit of a late reply to your comment, but I'm told in the 2023 English edition of this calendar the elf is now gone and the puzzle has changed! :)
The elf was on the story page for day 11 - letting you pick the room without trial and error. But I also didn't realise that until after I'd sovled it the same way as you and was still wondering what the keys were for...
Yes, you're right - the elf is on both the story page and in the room for day 11 - but unless you remember the day that it was on then you still need to search for it, so I don't see that it actually benefits you since the same search turns up the clearly matching patterns in the day 11 room anyway. :) I'm glad it wasn't just me who couldn't work out what the keys were for. ;)
It's funny how you called the key 'E even though it isn't an E' when it actually was, but didn't make the connection yet that they could be letters. As soon as I read the riddle card I thought ah this must be the elf from the pacman room, because I also recognised the lines, so I figured it out very quickly. But I did think there had to be something in that room that pointed to the elf because nothing in this calendar makes you jump to conclusions without clues. I was looking into the room to see if there was any hint of an elf having been there. Didn't even register the 'earlier this week' part. I also only figured out the keys after I already solved the puzzle and finally found the clue I was looking for. I wonder how many people got there by using the keys instead of the other hints.
Yes, I thought it was deeply ironic too when I watched it back! Because the key seemed to fit within the lines so neatly I never considered it might have another purpose, despite not being able to make any sense of it (which is on me!) - and it's also imho a poor choice to say the "keys [..] unlock his room's door" where "unlock" actually means "reveal" rather than that you need to use the keys on that room. I think in this case it probably didn't occur to the calendar makers that the design of the keys was too similar to the design of the markings on the wall, since it's such a significant red herring. Twice! Mind you (see another comment on this page) I've discovered this is more of an issue with the English version - in the original German version this puzzle made a lot more sense, and had better clues.
Yes, I have them all, and they definitely do vary in difficulty I agree. Generally I find there's usually one puzzle per box I get really stuck on, although sometimes I make it through successfully. It's a long time since I solved the first ones, though, so I am considering buying them again to solve on camera. (Although I also have plenty of other escape room games to try!)
@@SongoftheLute You might also try Exit: The Return to the Abandoned Cabin, then - I found this a smooth solve throughout, although I did kind of bodge one near the start by working out what the answer must be rather than solving it as intended. I won't say more so as not to spoil it! I solved almost all of the Exit games as soon as they were released, and have no memory at all of The Forgotten Island! :) One thing I've read elsewhere is that the difficulty ratings on the English Exit The Game boxes do not correspond with those on the German boxes and don't seem to generally match player experience (although I've personally always ignored the difficulty ratings, and equally have no idea if they match the German ratings or not!), but even so you might try those rated 2/5 (there aren't any 1/5 ones). The one I found hardest overall was The Catacombs of Horror, which was the only Exit game I played that I really did not like - mild spoiler alert (because it's a long game!), but I thought the combination of horror and sudden jarring juxtaposition into the real world was oddly disturbing, and not well thought-through.
@@drgareth Thanks for this reply. If you do any exit games I will be sure to watch them. Thanks for all your replies. Exit can make you feel quite stupid for just trying to explore which is never a good way to learn things.
The keys may be something that got lost in translation. Elf in German is eleven. So that would have brought you to the right door a bit quicker. And instead of printing more keys for the English version they included an elf in the room. Would be interesting to know whether the elf is in the German calender as well. Glad you solved it anyway.
Ahhhhhhhhhhh... yes, you're right! Of course! The entire puzzle design makes MUCH more sense now. So perhaps on the German prompt card it didn't say about checking only the past week, which would make the whole puzzle far more coherent than this version where you don't need the keys to locate the door. And therefore perhaps the entire prompt for this day was written differently, and this room lost a lot in translation. That's interesting, since it's at least the third day that the English version has been notably inferior to the German version - something for the calendar makers to think about for next year, perhaps! :)
Yes, I've checked - there's no elf in the German version! That explains why the graphic is not blended very well with the rest of the room. And what's more, the German riddle card says "A master found the code [but took it home with him]. Luckily he left three keys here; they drive you to his door. If you understand what the keys SAY you will no longer despair." Which makes massively more sense than the English translation, which I think is very misleading. And while the change to make 'elf' work may have seemed clever, it completely missed the point of having that clue in the first place - so the resulting puzzle ended up not really making full sense.
I'm told that in the 2023 reprint of this calendar that this puzzle has changed so it no longer spells 'elf', and therefore the elf picture is no longer needed (and has been removed from day 11 too). The elf was a legacy of translation from the German edition of the calendar, in which elf = 11. I haven't seen the revised calendar myself, but I believe that the keys now create a maths sum which gives the same answer, so hopefully this video still mostly makes sense! Let me know if it doesn't. :)
I'm so glad you figured out the Elf thing thank you, that would have bothered me all next year not knowing what the keys were about 😂
This was a good one today. Love watching how someone else goes through the logic of solving these puzzles
Thank you! It can be a bit embarrassing when I miss something obvious, but in this case I'd like to think it was more the case that the puzzle is a bit confusing. :)
Because I had the German version, there was no elf on the page for the 11th of December and also none in the room. So when you translate the word elf from German into English you get the word eleven, so I knew straight away to look in room 11 for the traces on the ceiling.
As you’ve said on a previous day, this is primarily a German game, translated for the English market, so that’s why they’ve had to add the elf onto the pages and inside the room
Ah, yes. I should have realized the German connection sooner, since I did know elf = eleven. And a bit of a late reply to your comment, but I'm told in the 2023 English edition of this calendar the elf is now gone and the puzzle has changed! :)
The elf was on the story page for day 11 - letting you pick the room without trial and error. But I also didn't realise that until after I'd sovled it the same way as you and was still wondering what the keys were for...
Yes, you're right - the elf is on both the story page and in the room for day 11 - but unless you remember the day that it was on then you still need to search for it, so I don't see that it actually benefits you since the same search turns up the clearly matching patterns in the day 11 room anyway. :) I'm glad it wasn't just me who couldn't work out what the keys were for. ;)
It's funny how you called the key 'E even though it isn't an E' when it actually was, but didn't make the connection yet that they could be letters.
As soon as I read the riddle card I thought ah this must be the elf from the pacman room, because I also recognised the lines, so I figured it out very quickly. But I did think there had to be something in that room that pointed to the elf because nothing in this calendar makes you jump to conclusions without clues. I was looking into the room to see if there was any hint of an elf having been there. Didn't even register the 'earlier this week' part. I also only figured out the keys after I already solved the puzzle and finally found the clue I was looking for. I wonder how many people got there by using the keys instead of the other hints.
Yes, I thought it was deeply ironic too when I watched it back! Because the key seemed to fit within the lines so neatly I never considered it might have another purpose, despite not being able to make any sense of it (which is on me!) - and it's also imho a poor choice to say the "keys [..] unlock his room's door" where "unlock" actually means "reveal" rather than that you need to use the keys on that room. I think in this case it probably didn't occur to the calendar makers that the design of the keys was too similar to the design of the markings on the wall, since it's such a significant red herring. Twice! Mind you (see another comment on this page) I've discovered this is more of an issue with the English version - in the original German version this puzzle made a lot more sense, and had better clues.
This was a cool puzzle. Have you ever played the exit escape room games? Some are easy and some are really really hard!
Yes, I have them all, and they definitely do vary in difficulty I agree. Generally I find there's usually one puzzle per box I get really stuck on, although sometimes I make it through successfully. It's a long time since I solved the first ones, though, so I am considering buying them again to solve on camera. (Although I also have plenty of other escape room games to try!)
@@drgareth Now that would be fun to watch. I tried the one about the lost island but it was way out of my league. the abandoned cabin was a bit better
@@SongoftheLute You might also try Exit: The Return to the Abandoned Cabin, then - I found this a smooth solve throughout, although I did kind of bodge one near the start by working out what the answer must be rather than solving it as intended. I won't say more so as not to spoil it! I solved almost all of the Exit games as soon as they were released, and have no memory at all of The Forgotten Island! :) One thing I've read elsewhere is that the difficulty ratings on the English Exit The Game boxes do not correspond with those on the German boxes and don't seem to generally match player experience (although I've personally always ignored the difficulty ratings, and equally have no idea if they match the German ratings or not!), but even so you might try those rated 2/5 (there aren't any 1/5 ones). The one I found hardest overall was The Catacombs of Horror, which was the only Exit game I played that I really did not like - mild spoiler alert (because it's a long game!), but I thought the combination of horror and sudden jarring juxtaposition into the real world was oddly disturbing, and not well thought-through.
@@drgareth Thanks for this reply. If you do any exit games I will be sure to watch them. Thanks for all your replies. Exit can make you feel quite stupid for just trying to explore which is never a good way to learn things.
The keys may be something that got lost in translation. Elf in German is eleven. So that would have brought you to the right door a bit quicker. And instead of printing more keys for the English version they included an elf in the room. Would be interesting to know whether the elf is in the German calender as well. Glad you solved it anyway.
Ahhhhhhhhhhh... yes, you're right! Of course! The entire puzzle design makes MUCH more sense now. So perhaps on the German prompt card it didn't say about checking only the past week, which would make the whole puzzle far more coherent than this version where you don't need the keys to locate the door. And therefore perhaps the entire prompt for this day was written differently, and this room lost a lot in translation. That's interesting, since it's at least the third day that the English version has been notably inferior to the German version - something for the calendar makers to think about for next year, perhaps! :)
Yes, I've checked - there's no elf in the German version! That explains why the graphic is not blended very well with the rest of the room. And what's more, the German riddle card says "A master found the code [but took it home with him]. Luckily he left three keys here; they drive you to his door. If you understand what the keys SAY you will no longer despair." Which makes massively more sense than the English translation, which I think is very misleading. And while the change to make 'elf' work may have seemed clever, it completely missed the point of having that clue in the first place - so the resulting puzzle ended up not really making full sense.
I'm told that in the 2023 reprint of this calendar that this puzzle has changed so it no longer spells 'elf', and therefore the elf picture is no longer needed (and has been removed from day 11 too). The elf was a legacy of translation from the German edition of the calendar, in which elf = 11. I haven't seen the revised calendar myself, but I believe that the keys now create a maths sum which gives the same answer, so hopefully this video still mostly makes sense! Let me know if it doesn't. :)